Conventional general purpose bus protocols use a fixed format in communicating over an interface. The format is based on the use of fixed or variable length data frames to pass data over the interface. The amount of bits and symbols that can be conveniently stored, coded and decoded by the sending and receiving components, and other similar implementation-related constraints, may limit the length of a frame and typically fix the length of the frame to a static value.
Transactions across the interface usually consist of multiple frames in a standard format. The format typically includes trip and register address data and payload data in a three-frame format. Thus, these conventional general purpose bus protocols use the same bandwidth for each transaction over the interface, which affects power consumption, clock rates, electromagnetic interference and electromagnetic emissions. While some general purpose bus protocols use a different number of frames for different operations, each particular operation has its own sequence of frames that does not vary. In addition, general purpose bus protocols typically provide a mechanism for deciding which component has access to and/or priority on the bus in the form of collision detection and arbitration, which may result in the consumption of more bandwidth.
Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION, it may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document: the terms “include” and “comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation; the term “or,” is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases “associated with” and “associated therewith,” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, or the like; and the term “controller” means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least one operation, such a device may be implemented in hardware, firmware or software, or some combination of at least two of the same. It should be noted that the functionality associated with any particular controller may be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely. Definitions for certain words and phrases are provided throughout this patent document, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that in many, if not most instances, such definitions apply to prior, as well as future uses of such defined words and phrases.